Indiana is called the Crossroads of America, and trying to expand on that advantage by improving the state’s infrastructure is worthy. While Hoosiers increasingly understand the need to take care of roads, bridges and other infrastructure in their communities, inland waterways also play an important role in transportation.

In a state still highly dependent on manufacturing, no small amount of goods produced in Indiana move by barge, and the infrastructure that makes that happen is in desperate need of attention.

Indiana is one of 38 states that depend on inland waterways for cargo shipping. The two main routes for Hoosier goods are to the the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and through the Great Lakes.

The Olmsted Locks on the Ohio River in Illinois provide access to the Mississippi River, and the Soo Locks in Michigan provide access to the Great Lakes. According to the Army Corps of Engineers, both lock systems are aging and in need of repairs and renovations.

The locks use gravity to allow ships to move from one waterway to another when there is a difference in water level. A boat enters a lock, a gate is closed, and water is allowed to flow into or out of the lock to either lift or lower the boat to the needed height to enter the next waterway.

The Olmsted lock was built in 1929. The stress from operation of the locks causes water to leak from the dam. The Army Corps has a plan for improving the locks, but it’s not scheduled for completion until 2020 because of lack of money.

The Soo Locks were built in 1948 with improvements in 1968. An Army Corps evaluation of the locks shows that they are in “jeopardy of catastrophic failure.” Congress approved a $341 million project to fix the Soo Locks, but it only appropriated $18 million in 2009 and 2010 for the project.

The deteriorating locks are likely not a burning issue with manufacturers in Allen County because they rely more on rails and roads for shipping. But businesses supplying raw materials to local manufacturers and businesses moving the finished goods to foreign markets do rely on the waterways for shipping. And other areas of the state, particularly northwest and southern Indiana, rely heavily on inland waterways.

Problems with the locks can cause closures and costly delays for ships. In 2007, Indiana shipped 38 million tons of cargo valued at $3.7 billion through the Ohio River and 31 million tons valued at $2.7 billion through the Great Lakes system. The deteriorating locks cost Indiana’s steel, agricultural and coal companies millions of dollars.

Conexus Indiana is advocating for improvements to the state’s logistics infrastructure to ensure that Indiana’s manufacturers can get products to buyers quickly and cost-effectively. The group, a state economic development initiative, is wisely including improvements to inland waterway infrastructure in the strategy.

A proposal to improve and modernize logistics in Indiana will not be complete without also improving the inland waterways used to get Hoosier products to market.

While neither lock is located in Indiana, Hoosier leaders need to encourage federal leaders to support the projects improving the locks.